Teaching Systems Change @STL Design Week  

As part of STL Design Week, I co-facilitated an interactive workshop titled “Patterns, Loops, and Leverage” with collaborator Hayley Butler and Paul Backman Levy, designed to help participants apply systems thinking to their own creative and professional challenges.

While design is often seen as product-or service-focused, this session invited participants to explore how design both shapes and is shaped by the systems around us, from teams and organizations to entire communities.

Through a series of hands-on exercises, we introduced participants to the Iceberg Model and connection circles, tools that reveal hidden dynamics and root causes beneath surface-level events. Participants applied these frameworks to real challenges from their work, uncovering patterns, leverage points, and new possibilities for change.

Participant feedback included:

“A mind-blowing exercise in how to solve any problem. It leaves me with optimism and a sense of agency.”
“Offered a great opportunity to bring people together from different backgrounds and mindsets.”
“Thorough explanation with concrete examples — I loved the layered approach to complex ideas.”

Impact:
The session engaged a new audience for systems practice, demonstrating how systems-thinking tools can strengthen collaboration, creativity, and strategy in the design field.